Did not Goldwater lose every state except 1 or 2? Why did he get beat so bad by a centrist democrat?

Personally, my heart yearns for conservatives but my brain pushes me towards a candidate who can win the center. That is where most voters are. 90% of voters never read party platforms or detailed policy statements of candidates. It is who do I like and whom can I trust.

Well, Goldwater carried Arizona, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
He also set tha stage for the rise of the Conservative movement nationally and the eventual takeover of the South by the GOP.
Too bad all of the work done between then and now has been squandered by the limp wristed Girly men who are now once again ascendant in the Republican Party,